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Parents search for engaging inspirational stories with morals for kids. These stories keep children entertained and play a vital role in the children’s upbringing. These inspiring stories might have a lot of drama, but they impart essential life lessons. Moreover, they are often heartwarming, leaving a lasting impression on children. Perhaps that is why parents are advised to read enlightening stories or narrate parables to children daily.
In this post, we bring you some of the best motivational stories in English that can positively impact your child when they listen to them. Happy storytelling!
Key Pointers
- Inspirational and motivational stories can have a significant impact on children.
- Narrating stories with voice modulation and emphasis on moral values further accentuates their effectiveness.
- Children can learn the virtues of bravery, determination, and helpfulness.
- They develop self-confidence and resilience by drawing inspiration from such stories.
7 Best Inspirational Stories With Morals For Kids
Children love story sessions. But to leave them awestruck, narration must be thrilling and entertaining at the same time. Here are some of the top inspirational stories you can tell your children. These moral stories for kids are extremely popular among children, and they especially love those that have magical elements or animal characters. They have been selected to instill important values and life lessons in children.
1. A group of frogs
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A colony of frogs is traveling across a forest in search of a pond. While hopping around, two frogs fall into a deep pit. The other frogs gather around the pit and express their concern over the situation. As the two frogs try to jump out of the deep pit, the other frogs discourage them by saying how impossible it is to jump out.
The two frogs choose to ignore the demotivating words of others and decide to jump out of the pit. They try very hard and put in all their efforts to come out of the pit while the frogs watching from the top tell them to give up.
Eventually, one among them is influenced by the other frogs and dies as it gives up on the struggle to come out of the pit. The other frog continues to jump as hard as it can.
After an immense struggle, it finally comes out of the pit alive. Other frogs are surprised and ask how it managed to come up in spite of them telling it to give up. The frog explains that it is deaf and assumed that everyone was cheering for it.
Moral of the story:
People’s words have a significant impact on our lives. But it is essential as to how we take them and influence our life.
2. Dream big
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Lily is a little girl, who is shy and reserved. But she enjoys playing soccer. Her friends and classmates ridicule Lily for her interest in soccer. Nonetheless, she is determined to pursue her passion and become a successful soccer player.
Every day, after returning from school, Lily quickly finishes her homework and practices soccer. Her mother understands the love Lily has for the sport and supports her in every way.
When the interschool competitions are announced at the school, Lily decides to participate. She takes part in the selection trials, and her classmates mock her once again. But they are shocked when Lily performs well and the judges select her to represent the school. Lily’s commitment and hard work mute every person who mocked her.
Moral of the story:
Determination, strong will, and focus can help you achieve even the toughest of goals, in spite of ridicule by others.
3. You are as brave as you think
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A mahout uses elephants to conduct circus shows. He has five elephants and keeps them chained through a single rope held not so tight. As the elephants are huge and strong, they could have broken the rope and escaped.
One day, a man who visits the circus, asks the mahout why the elephants are not trying to escape when the rope is not strong enough to hold them. The man is amazed to hear the reply: the mahout says, since their young years, the elephants have been conditioned to believe they were not capable of breaking the rope and they lacked the strength. And that is the reason why these elephants never tried to escape.
Moral of the story:
Our limitations and strengths lie within us. We can achieve anything if we believe we can achieve.
4. Potato, egg and coffee beans
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A little boy named John lives in a beautiful home with his parents. One day, his father finds him crying and asks if something is wrong. John says meekly, “I have so many problems in life,” and talks about his ‘problems’.
John’s father patiently listens to him. Then he brings a bowl and places a potato, an egg and some coffee beans in it. He asks John to touch and feel the ingredients in the bowl, and tell what he feels about them. John describes how he feels about each of them on touching.
The father smiles and asks John to place them all in three different bowls and pour water in them. He then boils them all. After a few minutes, the father turns off the stove and places all the bowls on the counter to cool them down.
When they have cooled down, John’s father asks him to touch them once again and feel the egg, potato, and coffee beans. John has a different answer this time. And he says, the potato’s skin is easier to peel as it has turned very soft, the egg has hardened, and there is a fresh coffee aroma coming from the beans.
Listening to John, his father smiles and tells him how the potato, egg, and coffee beans reacted to adverse situations. The potato has become soft, the egg turned very strong, and the coffee beans have changed their form completely during their testing time in the boiling water.
Moral of the story:
Problems are a part of life. How we react to them makes us a better individual.
5. The valuable gift
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A young boy named John longs to have a bicycle of his own and ride it everywhere he goes. But his father does not earn enough to buy a bicycle for him.
One day, while on his way to school, John sees a boy riding a sturdy cycle. While taking a turn, the cycle skids, and the young boy gets badly hurt. John rushes to help and takes him to a doctor for first aid. Later, he helps the boy to get home.
The boy belongs to a wealthy family, and his parents see John helping their son. As a reward for his kindness, they present John with a new bicycle.
Moral of the story:
Be kind and always help others in need and it will come back to you.
Point to consider6. Hard work is the key to success
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In a faraway village, lives a hardworking farmer who has grape fields. Year after year his grapery gives a rich harvest, and the farmer becomes very successful. He has three sons, who are young and energetic but never bother to work. As the farmer grows old, he begins to worry about his sons’ future.
Then he falls very ill and realizes his death is fast approaching. He calls the sons and tells them,
“Dear sons, I see my death nearing me, but before I bid goodbye to all of you, I want to share a secret. There is a treasure hidden under the fields. Dig the entire field after my death, to find it.”
The old farmer dies, and his sons perform the last rites. The sons begin to dig for the treasure without leaving any part of the field but find nothing. However, their digging of the field leads to a healthy crop and results in huge earnings. These earnings make the sons realize what their father meant.
Moral of the story:
Hard work always pays off. Fruits of hard work are always sweet whether or not they are in the form you desire.
7. The tortoise and the hare story
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Once upon a time, there lived a hare, who was proud of his swiftness and often teased the tortoise for his slow nature. Tired of his boasting, the tortoise asked to race with him, with other animals gathering to see their competition. The hare was swift and confident of his abilities, while the tortoise was slow but determined. As soon as the race began, the hare started running fast and took a lead of a few yards over the tortoise. Feeling overconfident, he looked back at the tortoise, who couldn’t be seen, and decided to take a nap midway through the race, thinking he could easily catch up later.
Meanwhile, the tortoise continued to walk steadily, never stopping. Waking up after some time, the hare found, to his great distress, that the tortoise was near the finish line. He rushed to catch up, but it was too late. The tortoise, slow and steady, had won the race. When the hare finally reached the end line, all the other animals laughed at him for having lost to the tortoise.
Moral Of The Story:
In the race of life, those who persevere against odds often win.
5 Best Motivational Stories With Morals For Kids
There are plenty of ways to motivate children and channel their energies in the right direction. One such way is to read uplifting stories to them. Here are some of the best stories that are motivating and encouraging for your little one:
8. Dove and the bee
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On the banks of a river, there is a tree where a swarm of bees set up their beehive. They remain busy the entire day buzzing on flowers and collecting honey. One fine day, a bee feels thirsty and goes to the river to drink some water. As the bee tries to drink, a wave of the current sweeps it away. The bee starts drowning.
Fortunately, a beautiful dove, who has been watching from a distance, rushes to help the poor bee. She plucks a big leaf from a tree and flies towards the bee. The dove places the leaf near the bee. The bee mounts on the leaf and dries its wings. In some time, the bee finds the strength to fly away to safety.
A couple of weeks later, the dove is caught in a dangerous situation. As she is sitting on the branch of a tree, an archer targets at her. The dove looks for an escape but sees a large hawk hovering around her.
That’s when her good deed returns to her. The bee comes to her rescue by stinging the archer hard. By then the archer releases the arrow, which misses the dove and hits the hawk, instead. The dove flies away to safety.
Moral of the story:
Good always comes back.
Did you know?9. A butterfly’s struggle
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One day, a man finds a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. He sits there and watches the butterfly struggle to come out through the tiny opening. After a while, he decides to help the butterfly when he sees it is not moving.
Using a pair of scissors, the man snips off the cocoon and opens it fully. The butterfly emerges out easily but it has a swollen body and undeveloped wings. The man waits patiently to see the wings grow and tries to nurse the butterfly but in vain.
The butterfly spends the rest of her short life, struggling to fly and crawling around. The man tried to do a good deed without realizing that some struggles are important in life. Nature has designed the butterfly’s body to struggle before it can fly.
Moral of the story:
The struggles and hardships in life shape our personality. They make us courageous and independent.
10. Shake it off
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On an unfortunate day, a man’s favorite donkey falls off a large cliff. He tries to pull the donkey out, but all his efforts go in vain. Disheartened, the man decides to bury the poor donkey.
He starts to pour soil and sand from above. The donkey, which is stuck down, feels the load of the soil and shakes it off his body. The man pours the soil again. And, once again the donkey shakes it off. The man notices that the donkey is shaking off the soil and is steeping on the soil bed, which is acting as a form of elevation. He realizes the donkey is slowly inching closer to the top. With every load of soil that is poured, the donkey rises higher.
Several hours pass by, and the man continues to pour the soil until the donkey is united with him again.
Moral of the story:
Face your hardships courageously as no problem is big enough to stop you from rising.
11. Three friends and a fisherman
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A large pond has many fishes living in it. Of all these fishes, three are best friends, who are always together. They never leave each other’s sides.
One day, a fisherman comes to this pond. Seeing lots of fishes, he invites other fishermen to cast nets. The three fishes worry about getting caught and killed by the fishermen.
The wise fish amongst them says, “We must find another pond and quickly move from here.” While one fish agrees, the other one is reluctant as he feels that this pond is their home. He says, “We should not behave cowardly, this pond is our home.”
The other two fish try hard to convince their friend, but they fail. So they decide to part ways and leave in search of a new pond. On the following day, when the fishermen arrive, the fish, who was unwilling to leave, gets caught and dies.
Moral of the story:
Always look at the bigger picture and let go of temporary attachments in crisis situations.
12. Value and self-worth
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At a workshop for students, a motivational speaker begins his speech by showing a twenty dollar note. He asks, “Who wants this $20 note?”
On seeing everyone raise their hands, the speaker crushes the note. And he asks again, “Who would still like to have it?”
Once again, everyone in the hall raises their hands. Eventually, the speaker throws the twenty dollar note on the floor and stamps on it with his shoes. He picks it up and asks again if anyone wants it now?
All the hands go up.
He concludes by saying, no matter what he does to the note, it is still desirable as there is no decrease in its value.
Moral of the story:
No matter how difficult life circumstances get, we should never lose our self-confidence. Our worth should never be impacted by the hardships in life.
Why Read Inspirational Stories To Kids?
Here are some important reasons you should read inspirational stories to kids.
- Promotes creativity: These stories fire children’s imagination and encourage them to think outside the box and be creative.
- Teaches values: Kindness, honesty, loyalty, and determination are some key values that are often highlighted in inspirational stories. Reading these stories helps children imbibe these qualities.
- Helps develop empathy: Stories expose children to various characters and emotions. By relating to different characters and their actions, children develop empathy and compassion.
- Provides role models: Children tend to look up to the characters of inspirational stories, adopting their positive qualities like kindness, bravery, and perseverance.
- Instills a love of reading: Children enjoy reading inspirational stories due to the amazing characters and engaging narratives. Thus, it promotes a love of reading and helps develop children’s vocabulary and comprehension skills.
- Strengthens parent-child bond: Reading stories allows you to spend quality time with your children. Experiencing different emotions together can help you be closer and more comfortable with each other and encourage them to be more open about their thoughts and feelings.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is a story that teaches a moral lesson called?
A story that teaches a moral lesson is called a fable. It can be true or exaggerated, and the tale falls under the category of animal stories for kids, as it often features animals as characters. A fable is an effective educational tool to teach children moral lessons engagingly.
2. Why are moral stories important for children?
Moral stories help children build their character and learn good values such as kindness, empathy, courage, and compassion. They also engage children’s imagination and help children develop a strong personality.
3. How can parents or teachers introduce inspirational stories to kids in an age-appropriate way?
Age-appropriate inspirational stories can be a wonderful way to inspire and motivate children. Younger children may enjoy stories with simple narratives and moral lessons, while older children can handle more complex themes. When selecting these inspirational stories for kids to read, ensure they contain characters that children can relate to or admire. Utilize storytelling techniques like voice modulation, gestures, and expressions to bring the stories to life. Incorporate visual aids such as colorful illustrations, pictures, or props to make the stories more engaging and interactive.
4. What fun activities or crafts can be done with kids based on inspirational stories?
Plenty of fun activities and crafts can be done with kids based on inspirational stories. Choose a favorite character from an inspirational story and create masks using paper plates, construction paper, and craft sticks. Let the kids decorate the masks with colors and patterns, and encourage them to act out scenes from the story. Many inspirational stories emphasize the importance of friendship and kindness. Teach the kids how to make friendship bracelets using colorful yarn or embroidery thread. They can draw illustrations related to the inspirational story and help them arrange and glue the pictures onto a large poster board to create a story collage.
5. What lessons or morals can kids learn from inspirational stories?
Inspirational stories often emphasize the value of treating others with kindness, empathy, and respect. Many stories feature characters who display courage in difficult situations and can teach children to be brave, face their fears, and stand up for what is right. These stories teach children that telling the truth, acting with integrity, and being trustworthy are essential qualities.
6. How do different cultures and religions have their own unique inspirational stories for kids?
Different cultures and religions have unique inspirational stories for kids that reflect their values, beliefs, and cultural heritage. These stories often feature local heroes, mythical creatures, and events significant to the culture. They celebrate cultural diversity, teach children about their roots, and foster a sense of identity and belonging. Various religions have sacred texts that contain inspirational stories for children. Legends and myths are prevalent in different cultures and often contain inspiring elements.
Life may get difficult sometimes, and one needs the right motivation to find a way out. As childhood is when parents or guardians prepare children for the real world, reading such meaningful tales could be beneficial. These inspirational stories for kids aim at developing self-confidence, kindness, and other righteous qualities among children. So do make these stories a part of their bedtime routine and inspire them to be kind and responsible individuals who lead the world with examples.
Believe in yourself and never give up! Watch this video for an inspiring moral story to narrate or show your kids.
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